1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device that displays information and to an information processing apparatus that processes information and displays the processed information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, portable terminal apparatus provided with a display device, such as cell phones and laptop computers have been widely used. Generally, a slim display device provided with a liquid crystal panel is employed in such a portable terminal apparatus, because reduction in size and weight of the apparatus is strongly demanded.
The liquid crystal panel is composed of elements such as a display screen, a light source and a control circuit, which are all built therein. Usually, such a liquid crystal panel provided in a display device is accommodated in a housing for reasons such as making its appearance look good. The housing is typically composed of: a front cover that covers the display screen of a liquid crystal panel without interfering with the display; and a rear cover that covers the back of the liquid crystal panel. In addition, it is assumed that a liquid crystal panel or the like of a portable terminal apparatus can be removed from the housing for the purpose of repair. Therefore, the front cover and the back cover are configured to engage each other at flanks of the liquid crystal panel so that they can be detached from each other as necessary (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-338371).
By the way, as for laptop computers, a display screen is required to be as large as possible, while the size of the entire computer is required to be as small as possible. In order to meet both of these requirements, it is conceivable to tightly accommodate the liquid crystal panel in the housing with no gaps in between and also to reduce the area where the front cover and the back cover engage each other.
However, a conventional way of engagement has such a problem that it is difficult to shrink the engagement portions of the front cover and the back cover and also to shrink a space within the housing used for allowing the bending of the engagement portions, thereby increasing the breadth of the entire apparatus.
This is not a problem limited to display devices employing a liquid crystal panel, but it generally occurs in any display device having a display panel contained in the housing of the device.